A Princess In The Window
by romance-addict44
Summary: Following the life of one of Tortall's princesses until finally, at the end of all, she is faced with her death, and the death of the one she loves.
1. Leaving It All Behind

The carriage bumped down the road, moonlight the only thing penetrating the darkness of the countryside. The rolling hills rippled with wheat, rice and corn, the golden stalks shining silver under the sky. The town behind her disappeared swiftly, dwindling first to a line, then a smudge, then a dot, then nothing. Something in her broke then, and her last resolve crumbled, releasing the flood of tears that had threatened to come all day. They poured down her cheeks, dampening her blue shirt, but doing little to ease the ache in her heart. She couldn't forget the look on his face as he watched them take her away, unable to do anything to help her, because she was doing this willingly. For him. God's she loved him so much, she would do anything for him, even the very thing she had promised herself she would never... She had hoped never to find herself in this very position, but here she had offered herself up to it willingly, all because he needed her to. She doubted she would ever see him again, that the ache where her heart used to be would ever go away. No, nothing would ever be the same.

Lightning lit the sky in the distance.


	2. Untouchable

She was quiet and her words were few. When she did speak, her words were harsh and brutal. She almost never smiled, and when she did, it was thin - lipped and distant. He had never heard her laugh, even though they had been married nigh on two years now. There was no doubt about it, she was a grim girl, but she seemed so confident and steady and reliable, he was glad she was there.

He knew she had secrets, dark ones too, worse than many he could imagine. He knew she had a past, mysterious and unforgiving, for what else could have made her this way? She was a girl full of mystery, haunted by things he would never know. She kept herself separate, refusing to get to know him, but for what he was unsure. She wasn't shy, he knew that the first time someone insulted him in front of her. She wasn't just being rude, he knew that. He'd never met a more polite, if quiet and unspoken girl in his life. Perhaps she was afraid???

He'd never seen her cry either. There had been a few times when she should have, and it frightened him that she had that much control over her emotions. He felt inferior to her whenever he let his emotions get the better of him and he exploded in rage or anger. She seemed afraid, terrified even, in those few instances she let her true emotions show through the stoic, unfeeling, indifferent mask she'd built up for herself. And, to be honest, she only let that happen on the rarest occasions.


	3. Always

It was odd, really, that she had fallen in love with him.

They were as different as day and night, like the sun and the moon, she told herself time and time again. Yet they valued many of the same things.

Her sisters had always told her she was to sensible to fall in love, and honestly, she had always believed them.

Yet here she was.

Head over heels with the most outrageous, self-centered, unselfish man she'd ever known.

His personality was conflicting in so many ways.

She'd tried to say she didn't love him, but after a while she could no longer deny it.

He was the air she breathed, he was the very thing that made her life worth living.

She didn't deny it anymore. It was pointless.

Because he was everything to her.

He always would be.

Always.


	4. Princess In the Window

The Princess was waiting. And it was boring. Waiting was one of her least favorite things because there was nothing to do while waiting. This time, it was different. Because this time, she wasn't waiting for another court meeting to end, another dance with some stuffy noble to finally be over. This time, she was waiting for the moment when the soldiers would break down the palace gates. She was waiting for the clank of their armor as they pounded up the stairs of the grand staircase. It wouldn't be long before there came a knock at her door and then they would burst inside the room. She was going to die. She'd thought that she would be more terrified, that she would be frantic with anxiety, hoping for someone to rescue her from this grim fate. Instead, she was standing there, calm as ever, staring out the window and waiting. Waiting. Because there was nothing she could do to change her fate.

There was a knock at her door. She sighed. It wouldn't be long now.


	5. End of All Things

Here, at the end of all things, when his whole world had come crashing down around him, he finally realized he loved her. It was stupid, that he should realize this now, when she would never know and it would never amount to anything.

As he watched things topple about him he recalled the look in her eyes on the rare occasion when she had talked to him.

She wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. As the nations King he had seen many that were far greater beauties than her. Her long brown hair was plain but her blue eyes could pierce you through in a heartbeat.

She didn't have to be the prettiest. It didn't matter. Because somehow, in the midst of their rocky relationship, he had fallen for her.

How ironic it was that he realized this when it was too late to matter.


	6. Safe

He was always there to catch her when she fell.

Always.

She didn't worry anymore.

She had once been terrified of failure, failure to impress, failure to succeed, failure to love.

She was pleased to know she hadn't failed at any of these things.

Just his presence at her side was enough to banish the doubt from her mind.

She was safe in his arms.

Now they had eternity to spend together.

Eternity.

She had never before truly grasped the meaning of the word. She'd never been able to comprehend how long eternity lasted.

Forever.

Starting right now, she meant to make the most of it, because she didn't have to worry.

Because he was there, she was safe.


	7. Epilogue

_The world may not remember the reign Emperor Kevron and his Tortallan bride, Empress Calyson of Carthak as anything other than the start of the War of Nations. _

_They might not remember the fall of Thak's Gate as anything other than the division of a once powerful empire._

_The lives of Kevron and Calyson will, in time, become nothing more than myths and legends. _

_No one will remember the emotional struggles divided their leaders as surely as the issue of slavery divided their land._

_But one thing is certain; the story of their brief romance will survive the ages, passed down from mother and daughter as that of a fairy tale princess and her gallant prince._

_It just goes to show, love conquers all._


End file.
